---
name: "social_proof"
description: "Design and place social proof that converts: testimonial formats (quotes, video, walls of love, case studies), review harvesting that actually gets responses, and trust-signal placement on pages and funnels. Triggers when someone asks about testimonials, reviews, trust badges, credibility sections, or getting more customer feedback."
---

# Social Proof

## Purpose
Turn customer love into revenue. This skill covers three jobs: choosing the right
testimonial format for the asset you have, harvesting reviews and testimonials
systematically, and placing proof exactly where purchase decisions happen.

## Workflow

### 1. Inventory what you have
Before writing anything, ask for or list the raw assets: customer reviews, emails,
DMs, support tickets with praise, screenshots, video, usage metrics, customer
names/logos and their permission status. Match each asset to a format
(see `references/testimonial-formats.md`) instead of forcing everything into one
template.

### 2. Pick the format by proof strength
Order of credibility, strongest first:
1. **Verifiable public posts** (embedded social posts, linked reviews) — readers
   can click through and confirm. Closest to unmediated proof.
2. **Video testimonials** — hardest to fake, best for emotional impact.
3. **Named case studies with specifics** — numbers, timeline, before/after.
4. **Short quotes with full attribution** — name, role, company beats "J.S., Verified Buyer".
5. **Star ratings and review counts** — the baseline; without it, everything else
   looks staged.

If the only assets are anonymous five-star quotes, say so plainly and go harvest
better proof before polishing the page.

### 3. Harvest on a system, not on hope
- **Timing:** ask at the peak of satisfaction — right after a service is completed
  or a support issue is resolved well, 2 to 3 days after a product is delivered
  (time to try it, memory still fresh).
- **Friction:** the ask must be one click. Direct review link (for Google Business
  Profile, the `g.page/r/` short link) or QR code on receipt/packaging/invoice.
  Never "go to Google and search for us".
- **Prompt, don't script:** most customers stare at a blank box. Offer 3 or 4
  questions (what they were trying to solve, what stood out, who they would
  recommend it to) so they write in their own words. Never write the review for them.
- **Automate:** tie the ask to the delivery/completion event in the CRM or email
  tool so it fires every time. One polite reminder maximum, then drop it.
- **BrightLocal 2025 context:** 96% of consumers say they are open to writing a
  review, so the bottleneck is the ask, not willingness. But trust is falling —
  only 42% now trust reviews as much as personal recommendations, down from 79%
  in 2020 — so verifiable, unfiltered proof matters more than ever.
- Template messages in `assets/review-ask-templates.md`.

### 4. Place proof where decisions happen
Proof belongs next to doubt. The priority order:
1. **Product/pricing page, beside the CTA** — rating average plus count, and one
   objection-killing quote (e.g. "true to size" near the size selector).
   Baymard found 88% of sites fail to show the average rating in list items and
   search results — an easy edge.
2. **Homepage hero or logo bar** — "trusted by" logos, headline numbers.
3. **Checkout/payment step** — one reassurance line ("4.8/5 from 12,000 reviews").
4. **Search results** — review schema markup so stars show in Google listings.
5. **Dedicated wall of love** — for deep browsers; make it filterable by pain
   point, benefit, or customer type, like Eight Sleep's wall of embedded social posts.

### 5. Handle the negative reviews
Answer negative reviews publicly, quickly, and professionally — Baymard found 79%
of sites don't. A measured response turns a bad review into evidence of good
service. Never suppress or hide critical reviews: the FTC's review rule bans
review suppression, and shoppers distrust perfect 5.0 ratings anyway.

## Output Contract
- A proof plan states: which formats for which assets, the harvest system
  (trigger, channel, timing, template), the placement map, and the legal check.
- Drafted copy is always labeled with its format and kept verbatim when it is a
  real customer quote. Drafted testimonial *examples* are marked EXAMPLE and never
  presented as real.
- Placement recommendations name the exact page section and the objection they answer.
- Numbers cited in any deliverable come only from the verified list in
  `~/workspace/skill-production/scratch/social-proof-sources.md`, or are flagged
  as the client's own data.

## Operating Rules
1. No invented testimonials, quotes, names, ratings, or review counts. Every piece
   of proof in a deliverable traces to a real source or is marked as a placeholder.
2. Keep every quote verbatim. You may curate order and pick excerpts; you may not
   rewrite a customer's words.
3. Attribute fully: name, role, company beats initials every time. Anonymous proof
   is a last resort and must be labeled as such.
4. Respect the FTC review rule: no fake reviews, no undisclosed paid or
   incentivized reviews, no suppression of negative ones, and disclose any material
   connection (free product, employee, affiliate).
5. Prefer third-party platforms over on-site-only reviews: shoppers trust
   independent review sites more than retailer-hosted ones.
6. Never use the banned style: no em dashes, no "delve", no "game-changer",
   no "moreover", no hollow inspirational filler. Write plain and direct.